ACC, Pac-12, Big Ten commissioners fire back at critics over College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff recently made a major decision by keeping the format the same for at least four more seasons and voting against expansion. Four teams will compete for a national championship for the foreseeable future before conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick figure out a new format.

A lot of the public blame for the lack of expansion has fallen upon three conferences, the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12, also known as The Alliance. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff talked about that on Friday, denying that the narrative is true.

“I think that’s a narrative that certain folks benefit from having out there even if it’s not true,” Kliavkoff told ESPN.

Big Ten commission Kevin Warren doubled down, saying his conference is in favor of eventually expanding the College Football Playoff, whatever that may look like. However, he did say there are some other factors involved and the Big Ten wants to make sure everything is timed correctly.

“There can’t be, ‘Well, we’ll answer that after we agree that we’re going to expand currently, we will answer that down the road,'” Warren said. “And so I know from where I sit, where the Big Ten sits, I said it very clearly: We are 100% supportive of expansion. We think it’s the right thing to do. But it has to be at the right time, in the right format, for the right reasons.”

Additionally, a huge issue in trying to work through expansion has been the Rose Bowl. A proud tradition for the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences, preserving its date, timeslot, and pageantry, while also extending the season by a couple of weeks, has been a challenge for everyone involved with the College Football Playoff.

Kliavkoff was recently on the Paul Finebaum Show and explained how they are working through that process.

“What we’re asking for for the Rose Bowl is a tiny little ask,” Kliavkoff said recently on The Paul Finebaum Show. “We’ve asked for three hours every three years to be protected against having to compete against a CFP quarterfinal. … Not a big ask. It’s difficult to expand the College Football Playoff and also hold onto the great traditions we have in the bowl games. We’re trying to do that. It’s a difficult balance.”

For now, there will be no expansion until the 2026 season, where everyone will have the opportunity to discuss and figure out the best format for the College Football Playoff. The ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 will continue to work together as power conferences, attempting to create a system that is equally fair for everyone involved.